First of all, I genuinely enjoyed this course and Dr. Z’s teachings and teaching methods. An important ethical lesson I learned as I am preparing to move on from my college career is to be careful of previously engraved beliefs. This stuck with me after studying the case study of the cameraman who was put in a position to help police, by tackling an escaping suspect, or stay out of it despite the officer, and friend, yelling for his help. It was obvious in this case that he was acting on instincts and in response to his friend asking for help, and this is very relatable for me, and it is hard to say I still wouldn’t do the same if put in his position, but it is an interesting dilemma when you look at the whole situation in the aftermath. I know that if I do end up in a similar situation my instincts may now be overridden by a logical thoughtfulness that may keep me or others out of danger. This would also be the best way to handle the situation professionally, considering the people who chase suspects for a living are probably much better at it, and I have seen this first hand since my brother is a police sergeant.
Another important ethical lesson that will stick with me from this course is the importance of the truth. I work in radio, a small State College station, so often many things that are said are basically viewed as theater, putting on a show. I never thought twice about this, if it works it works, if it keeps people listening it is good and can only help revenue which is good for everybody. We are primarily for entertainment, but I can see how such an attitude could very easily translate to any other outlet, especially broadcast outlets that are so tied in with sponsorships and commercial interests. This becomes a very dangerous reality, because when you are showing or saying things dishonestly for the sake of entertainment and ratings, you obviously don’t reveal that these are your motives, and I would imagine become protective of these secret strategies. If we record something and make it sound live, or put an employee on the phone lines to sound like a caller for the sake of a better sounding entertainment show, it is not harmful to anyone really, but it really makes me think what these much larger news organizations, with much more money on the line, would be willing to do to make sure their “theater” sounds good to their audience.
I really enjoyed this course and Dr. Z’s instruction. I have a close friend I met here at Penn State who is also from China, and it was interesting to me because I felt my friend and Dr. Z had similar perspectives, yet from different generations, and I enjoy hearing from both. As one of my final courses hear at Penn State it will definitely be one I remember, and honestly one of the more relevant courses concerning post-graduation reality. I can’t think of any specific suggestions off the top of my head, but I’m sure it will only get better as media continues to progress in unexpected ways.